Settler shoots dead 2nd Palestinian following alleged attack attempt

Nov. 22, 2015 11:02 A.M. (Updated: Nov. 23, 2015 11:52 A.M.)

Photo of the incident taken from social media

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian was shot and killed near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kfar Adumim in the central occupied West Bank on Sunday, after the Palestinian, driving a taxi, ran into another car on a main road, an Israeli police spokesperson said.

Micky Rosenfeld said that after the car incident, a Palestinian taxi driver "walked out his vehicle with a knife in his hand and was shot dead."

Rosenfeld said he was not aware whether the Palestinian was shot by a civilian or by Israeli forces, although Hebrew-language media reported the shooter was a settler from the area. Rosenfeld added that the area had been cordoned off, without adding further details.

It was unclear whether the car crash was an attack or accidental, although following the incident, an Israeli settler corroborated the police account that Hassib exited the car holding a knife.

Israeli news site Ynet reported that an Israeli settler "was lightly wounded, suffering a scratch to his hand," adding that it was unclear whether the scratch came from the car crash or the alleged attempted stabbing attack.

Less than an hour before the incident, a prominent Israeli settler ran over a Palestinian girl, 16, before shooting her dead.

The settler reportedly said that he believed the teen was about to carry out a stabbing attack at Huwarra checkpoint in the northern occupied West Bank district of Nablus.

The teenager was identified as Ashraqat Taha Ahmad Qatanani from Nablus, the Palestinian military liaison office reported, after notifying her family of their daughter's death.

Nearly 90 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since the start of October -- many shot dead under circumstances in which rights groups said that Israeli forces used unnecessary force -- while at least 16 Israelis have been killed in the same period.

A series of attacks on Israelis have accompanied a wave of popular unrest that has swept the the occupied Palestinian territory since the beginning of October.

While Israelis have sought to blame the unrest on religious incitement, Palestinians have pointed to the nearly 50-year military occupation of the Palestinian territory, no prospect of a political solution, and a deep sense of frustration and despair.